Jerry Harris of Cheer Is Under FBI Investigation for Allegedly Soliciting Sex from a Minor

By Marie Solis  |  September 15, 2020 | 2:25am
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Jerry Harris of Cheer Is Under FBI Investigation for Allegedly Soliciting Sex from a Minor
Photo:Omar Vega (Getty Images)

Federal agents searched Jerry Harris’ Naperville, Illinois, home on Monday as part of an FBI investigation into allegations that the 19-year-old Cheer star solicited nude photos and sex from minors.

According to a USA Today report, the allegations were brought by 14-year-old twin brothers Charlie and Sam, who said they experienced more than a year of sexual harassment from Harris. They said Harris—whom they met through competitive cheerleading—began making inappropriate advances toward them when they were 13, primarily through Instagram and Snapchat. (USA Today has withheld the brothers’ last names because of their age and the nature of their allegations.) Harris has not responded to the allegations.

The brothers showed the outlet several screenshots of texts and private messages they said Harris had sent them, asking for sexually explicit photos or sex. In one screenshot, a user whose account name is “.jerry harris” responds to a photo of Charlie demonstrating a cheer trick by asking for a video of him doing the same trick nude.

“It was just eating me alive,” Charlie told USA Today. “It was just making me so gross and uncomfortable. Every time I saw his name or something like that, I was just cringing about it.”

One of the brothers has also accused Harris of asking him to have sex with him at two cheerleading competitions hosted by Varsity Brands last year. Varsity detailed the allegations against Harris in an August letter to police, which triggered the FBI investigation. The FBI has since interviewed both twins and pulled data from their phones to corroborate their accounts.

Sarah Klein, the lawyer representing Charlie and Sam, acknowledged that the public might have a difficult time reconciling Harris’ depiction on Cheer with these allegations.

“He might be charming and funny and lovable and also be engaging in sexual activity with children,” Klein said.

 
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